- PS Chairman Michal Šimečka proposes a coalition of four with SaS, KDH and Democrats.
- The goal of the coalition is a stable government that will last the entire election period.
- Šimečka promotes dialogue between the parties despite different ideological principles.
- He suggests respecting differences and seeking understanding for effective governance.
The four parties PS, SaS, KDH and non-parliamentary Democrats have according to PS leader Michal Šimečka the best chance to form a government that will remain stable. He said this in an interview with TASR. In connection with the Slovak Movement, Slovakia perceives the risk that the eventual government might not last.
Therefore, Šimečka wants to use less than two years until the elections to convince the voters that these four parties can create a stable government. He thinks that a liberal and Christian democratic party can be in one government. PS wants to go to the elections with its own program and in front of them KDH will not give ultimate demands to other parties, what they should or should not have in the program.
“I want to use these less than two years to convince the voters, together with our partners in the opposition, that this composition, i.e. PS, SaS, KDH and the Democrats, has a chance to create a stable government. I firmly believe that people will see that and give us confidence, and until then we have to do our homework, we have to align our programs and priorities.” announced Šimeček for TASR.
“My only concern is that after we succeed in renumbering this government majority – and already today some polls show that it is possible – the next government will last so that it does not crumble within a few months,” he emphasized that if the next government fell like the governments of Iveta Radičová or Igor Matovič, the opposition voters would be disappointed.
“And these three other parties are partners with whom I can imagine it. It’s nothing personal, nor is there any conflict on my part, no antipathy towards my colleagues from the Slovakian Movement. That’s just the way it is.” emphasized Šimečka.
Although the PS leader perceives the vote of several members of the KDH in favor of the government’s amendment to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic as a wound, according to him, these wounds must be “healed” and a dialogue should be held. According to him, this is the way to an alternative to the current government. He recalled that shortly after the vote on the constitutional amendment, the PS, SaS, KDH and the Democrats managed to find an agreement on the search for breakthroughs in individual program areas.
PS will go to the elections with a program that will reflect its liberal attitude and the value of equality. “And I assume that the KDH will have a program that reflects their conservative tuning. That’s perfectly fine. What is important, and I don’t think it should fail, is that after the elections, but also before the elections, we can talk about all issues with respect for each other and find some understanding,” he declared.
According to Šimeček, governing is also about the parties not agreeing on everything. “But I am convinced, as it happened in Slovakia in the past and it is also common elsewhere in Europe, that Christian democrats and liberals can govern together,” he added. “I will not tell the KDH what it should or should not have in the program, nor any other party. And I would expect the same respect from our party as well,” Šimečka concluded.
